I have been dealing with the symptoms of perimenopause for about a year now. Mostly I get night sweats and hot flashes. I seem to get my period for three months or so and then go through three or four months without a period.

I was really disappointed when I found out that soy in all its forms is an AVOID because of my non-secretor and Hunter status.

Any recommendations out there? I am getting pretty tired of not sleeping and am exhausted. My adrenal glands are on over drive, which is already a problem for type O's. My blood pressure is up for the first time in my life.

HRT scares me because of my family history of heart disease. Bio-identical hormones are another option but do not come without their side affects. My doctor has said that the choice is mine but I need to weigh the possible side affects of the bio-identical hormones with the lack of sleep.

Prior to the onset of perimenopause, I was in extremely good health, but it seems that this phase of my life has ushered in a host of other health issues. HELP!

I do have the book and have read it. Prior to reading the book, I was taking a soy supplement that my sister recommended. It had worked pretty well for me. Then I read that soy was an avoid for me and I discontinued the supplement.

I have incorporated most of the superfoods, but the symptoms keep getting worse and worse each week.

I am taking several different supplements for heart, blood pressure and cholesterol and am reluctant to add too many more supplements. There is some crossover between the supplements from the cardiovascular book and the menopause book.

I was hoping that I could get some other recommendations for something to replace the soy.

recommendations for your type are all in the book, and once you input all your issues into swami, in the health history section, you ll be given those recommendations appropriate to your individuality and genetic variables.

''Just follow the book, don't look for magic fixes to get you off the hook. Do the work.'' Dr.D.'98DNA mt/Haplo H; Y-chrom/J2(M172);ESTJThe harder you are on yourself, the easier life will be on you!

You might want to invest in a SWAMI, if you haven't already. The status of soy may change for you during menopause, even though it's an avoid for Hunters and O nonnies. Soy has strong estrogenic effects on Os, making it more of a medicine than a food, which is why it's not an appropriate food for Os- but it might make it a good "medicinal herb" for you right now, in the right quantities (which is going to be extremely small, if you get soy at all.)

If you can't get a SWAMI right now, you may just want to restart the soy-containing supplement, while keeping all other forms of soy out of your diet, and see how your body responds. IMO, soy (even if it's an "avoid" for you) is probably less harmful than synthetic hormones.

Victoria,Do you know if the progesterone cream has any of the health risks of HRT or bioidential hormones?

Did you put the flaxseed on something? How did you eat them?

I recommend the book, "What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Menopause" by Dr. John R. Lee. It was an eye-opener for thousands of women. Progesterone is highly protective, which many doctors are unaware. In HRT, Estrogen is usually combined with Progestin, a synthetic knock-off of progesterone.

I put a couple of Tb. of flaxseeds in my little dedicated coffee grinder every morning. The meal then goes into my morning smoothie.

Normal day, let me be aware of the treasure you are.Let me not pass you by in quest of some rare and perfect tomorrow.~Mary Jean Irion

I used to take a soy balance product but discontinued that due to my non-secretor and Hunter status.

Once I finish will all this stuff, I am happy to switch to the BTD/GTD supplements, but would love some direction. I think probiotics are in order and a general multivitamin for my type as well as a supplements to support me during my perimenopause and to support my heart health. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Regarding the bio-identical hormones, I am reluctant, given their possible issues with heart attacks. My hormone specialist tells me that a new study is coming out on them this year. I am hoping that it comes out in time for me to make an informed decision. Right now, it is as clear as mud. One of the things that bothered me is that if you have pets, the hormone cream can rub off on them. Pets are having issues with the creams. Loosing hair, growing breasts on male animals, etc. That gave me pause. I have two male cats who sleep with me every night. When you read the possible side affects, it is not clear that using them is a good idea. After all, menopause is a natural part of a woman's life cycle and breast cancer and heart attacks are possible side affects.

I purchased SWAMI today. Time to get some additional help. I need sleep!!!!

In fact, the bio-identical hormones do rub off on pets! Either by sitting in your lap or sleeping with you or licking you. From what the hormone specialist told me, her dog lost all its hair on his tummy from sitting in her lap and being exposed to the hormones. She had an article on it in her office. My cats sleep with me, sometimes under the covers, so they would be exposed. You rub it on your thighs or your torso. If my pajama top rose up during the night, the cats could be exposed.

However, that is not the main reason I am reluctant to try them right now. The listed health risks are basically the same for bio-identical hormones as they are for HRT. There are some major differences, however. Becasue bio-identicals do not have to be synthesized by the liver, tsome believe they are safer. Again, I want to wait until the new study is released this year before going down that path.

This is where saliva testing comes in handy, to see which hormones we are actually in need of. The majority of mid-life women are deficient in progesterone, but as Mayflowers shared, she was not one of them.

And the blood tests that M.D.'s order will not show progesterone levels.

Normal day, let me be aware of the treasure you are.Let me not pass you by in quest of some rare and perfect tomorrow.~Mary Jean Irion

Lola, I am not sure what you mean. Maybe you are saying that Dr. D does not suggest any of these supplements for menopause or are you referring to the bio-identical hormones? Actually, I started the BTD for cardiovascular support and then tried to do some cross referencing for the menopause support.

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Dandelion 450 mgTurmeric 300 mg

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As directed by the hormone specialist:Co-Q-10 100 mg

Both in the Cardiovascular book supplements, Turmeric on Pg 70 and Dandelion Pg 72. I forgot to add Bladderwrack to my list above, which is on page 73. Co-Q-10 is listed on Pg 72.

Basically I was trying to find some overlap between all the supplements that were recommended by the two specialists I saw and the two books I read on the two issues I am dealing with. Certainly the Cardio takes precedence over the menopause. Maybe this wasn't the best idea

There were so many different supplements listed in the two books and recommended by the different specialists that I had to start somewhere. What do I know??? I am just a beginner here trying to wade my way through all of this Hopefully my SWAMI will help!

Patty H, I'm in menopause now, started perimenopause about 6 or7 years ago which has been helped with the BTD and now GTD. I also have many sleepless nights Besides being very compliant, I rotate these things before going to bed at night: Tranquility Base, magnesium citrate and OTC wild yam progesterone cream. So Sunday night I used the cream, last night nothing, tonight I'll take Tranquility Base..... For me I've discovered my body gets used to something and then it doesn't work!! And once a week or so I'll skip and take nothing. Taking a nice long bath right before bed helps me too I still have sleepless nights but fewer of them A breast thermography showed me I was estrogen dominant which might be why the progesterone cream works for me.

I was on bio identical HRT for about 3 years due to severe, and I mean severe, mood swings. It helped but I don't seem to need it now.

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"What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Menopause" by Dr. John R. Lee

This book that Victoria recommended is excellent!

We hunters need lots of exercise but for me, there doesn't seem to be a correlation between heavy exercise and sleep.

On a talk show I heard that some people have a sleep rhythm where they get sleepy at 8:30'ish then perk up at 9:30'ish and finally are ready for bed around 10:30'sh. That's me so I force my self to stay awake until after 10.

I found the tips in What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Menopause" by Dr. John R. Lee, very helpful some years ago when I was in the perimenopause period, he has abook for that also called "What your Doctor may not tell you....". Since then I have had some issues with the liver/gallbladder and now understand that the hormones need to detox through the liver but can't if it is congested. So detoxing the liver is also helpful. I did use the progesterone cream for a number of years, and magnesium for migraines and they were both very helpful. Good luck.